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When you are pressed for time and want a quick and easy shrimp dish, try this tangy lemon pepper shrimp recipe! It’s one of my go-to quick dinner recipes, and goes with just about anything!
Serve it on its own as an appetizer, or as an entrée over pasta or rice, there is no doubt this pan fried shrimp recipe is the perfect blend of tangy and delicious!
To Make Lemon Shrimp
- Defrost, peel and devein shrimp. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Make the coating for the shrimp by placing the flour, lemon pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl (per recipe below). Add the shrimp to the bag and toss to coat.
- Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once oil and butter are sizzling, add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are no longer translucent and the coating has turned brown and crispy. Shake them in the pan until they turn over and are all fully fried. Do not overcook!
To Cook Shrimp on the Grill:
- If making grilled shrimp, you’ll want to skip the flour in this recipe and toss the seasonings with some olive oil.
- Thread three or four coated shrimp on wooden skewers that have been soaked in water (so they don’t burn on the grill).
- Grill for about 4 minutes over medium heat and then flip over and grill another 4 minutes.
- Squeeze ½ the lemon over the top and serve with lemon slices and parsley.
Tips for Keeping Shrimp Juicy When Fried
To be honest, to keep shrimp juicy the key is to make sure you don’t overcook it! It’s easy to do because they cook so quickly.
Keep in mind, like most meats, even seafood will continue to cook after it’s been removed from the heat source. This is called ‘carryover’ or ‘residual’ cooking.
What to Serve with Lemon Pepper Shrimp
Lemon pepper shrimp goes with anything! It makes a great topping on a salad or a filling for Baja-style shrimp tacos! If you are grilling them on skewers, served with a creamy guacamole dip or spicy salsa!
More Shrimp Recipes
- Sriracha Grilled Shrimp – Spicy and delicious!
- Shrimp Tacos – Quick meal!
- Shrimp Salad – Great for lunches
- Shrimp and Grits – Personal favorite!
- Lemon Shrimp Linguine– Rich and flavorful
- Shrimp Etouffee – Perfect amount of heat!
Lemon Pepper Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shrimp deveined
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 lemon
Optional
- lemon wedges and parsley for serving
Instructions
- Defrost shrimp under cold running water if frozen. Dab dry with paper towels.
- Combine flour, lemon pepper, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Add shrimp and toss to coat.
- Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil and butter are sizzling, add shrimp and cook until crisp & browned. Flip over and brown the other side. (About 2 minutes per side). Squeeze ½ lemon over top. Do not overcook!
- Serve with lemon slices and parsley.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
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Delicious
YUM
The Lemon Pepper Shrimp; simple, but yet so tasty. Seafood restaurant quality. Bookmarked to make again.
Amazing. Just made this for dinner. I knew I should’ve doubled the recipe and used the 2lbs of shrimp I had but I’ll make it again. I followed recipe exactly as written. I plated cooked shrimp, added crushed garlic to the pan, added boiled Lo Mein Egg noodles and tossed with the olive oil/butter mixture and added the shrimp back to the pan with the noodles. Sprinkled with parsley. Amazing. Crispy. Perfectly cooked. I used the raw, deveined 16/20 per pound shrimp. Delicious. Thanks for this recipe. Keeping this for quick weeknight meals.
So glad you enjoyed these Buffy!
I made this for dinner tonight. Great recipe! Do you have any tips for getting the coating to stay crispy? Mine got a little soggy.
A couple of tips you could try Laura – make sure you have dabbed the shrimp dry before adding the coating, shake off any excess coating before frying, add to the frying pan only after it is nice and hot, and be sure to avoid overcooking! This should help keep the coating nice and crispy.
Super easy recipe! And delicious to boot. I’m 22 with mild cooking experience, and it was a cake walk, not to mention delicious. My grandmother doesn’t eat large quantities of food, but let me tell you she scarfed if down. Easy 5 stars
Excellent dish and great flavor. Served as a main dish.
Planning to serve as an appetizer during the Holidays. Crowd pleaser for sure!
That is a great idea Karen! Definitely a crowd-pleaser.
What sides did you serve this with? I’m new to cooking sea food? I wanna make some tomorrow for dinner.
Hi Celene, depending on what we are in the mood for we love to serve this shrimp over pasta, inside a taco, or over a fresh salad. Or if grilling, I love to serve them alongside some grilled veggies and potatoes!
I found this to be a bit plain and added spice to compensate
This is not a Mexican recipe, if that’s what you were looking for. This is a FANTASTIC dish, and I’ll be making it again & again.
So happy you loved it Angelina! Enjoy!
You’re amazing!! This is the BOMB!!
You are too kind! I am so glad you liked the recipe Rivin!
Is this made with cooked shrimp or raw? Can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
We made this with raw shrimp Judy. Enjoy!
It was really good
I saw this and have craved it. I bought my shrimp and I am treating myself tonight for Ash Wednesday. I can’t wait
This lemon pepper shrimp recipe sounds delicious! I don’t make many shrimp dishes even though I do love shrimp. My question is ….. for this recipe, it doesn’t state whether to use raw shrimp or cooked. Which one?
The shrimp is raw. Enjoy!
If you use cooked shrimp your shrimp
Is going to get hard☺